New partnership to bring together Wessex communities for mental health research
A new collaboration will target research into mental health areas of most concern to local communities.
NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Wessex has teamed up with Raising Voices in Research (RViR).
They will work with organisations from across Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight to support mental health research in the region.
New Wessex partnership
This new partnership is an extension of RViR, a collaboration led by Action Hampshire. RViR aims to reach people in underserved communities who might be interested in taking part in research.
They do this through partnerships with voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations. These organisations are all engaged, embedded in, or led by these communities.
RViR is a Hampshire and Isle of Wight (HIOW) project that aims to increase diverse participation in health research. It is funded under the NHS England’s Research Engagement Network (REN) Development programme.
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) is part of RViR, along with the HIOW Integrated Care Board (ICB). The University of Winchester's Engaging Communities Research Centre (ECRC) is also part of RViR.
Building on previous work
The project will build on work of the Mental Health Research Hub, which is funded by NIHR ARC Wessex.
The Mental Health Research Hub has been developing research expertise and capacity over the last two years. Its researchers focus on the mental health of various groups. These include children and younger people, older adults in coastal communities, men, and military personnel and veterans.
It is led by Professor Sam Chamberlain, Psychiatrist, from Hampshire and Isle of Wight NHS Foundation Trust.
He said: “This is a great opportunity to bring together the people and organisations concerned about mental health and include their ideas in research.
"Researchers and people living with mental health conditions will be working closely together to co-produce research studies, sharing lived experience and research knowledge.”
Supporting mental health collaborations
The programme of activities will include two Research Collaborative events in the Summer and Autumn of 2025. It will also include a series of workshops led by VCSEs with their community members. These workshops will seek to understand their needs and perceptions of mental health research.
Researchers will be offered RViR training. This will help them improve their links with VCSE’s and local communities. VCSE’s will also be offered support to develop research skills.
For information about the partnerships, please contact jessica.johnson@actionhampshire.org from Action Hampshire, or Jamie.stevenson@soton.ac.uk from NIHR ARC Wessex.